1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to processors and, more specifically, to a hand held device able to provide a doctor with general medical information and specific patient information while also allowing input of notes regarding patients in both data and audio formats.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous types of hand held processing devices have been provided in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,468,947; 5,739,665 and 5,778,882 all are illustrative of such prior art. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.
A hand-held processing system wherein a peripheral module may receive therein a computer processor basic module of standardized construction, with a user-immune real-time multi-tasking operating system. Advantageously the peripheral module may include a touch screen or other highly versatile and compact data input/output device adaptable to graphical and/or other input/output modes suitable for different applications, languages and the like.
A portable RF docking station is detachably coupled to a palm-sized computer to provide extended wireless communication through a radio modem and wireline communication through a wireline modem. Both modems are contained inside the docking station and are powered by rechargeable batteries. The docking station includes a housing having a flat platform, a side section that extends vertically upward along a side edge of the platform and a rear section that extends vertically upward along a rear edge of the platform. The housing in combination with a data connector holds the computer and docking station together as one cohesive unit. A four-stage charging circuit maintains the rechargeable battery in a fully charged condition.
A health monitoring system which tracks the state of health of a patient and compiles a chronological health history of the patient uses a multiparamedic monitor which periodically and automatically measures and records a plurality of physiological data from sensors in contact with the patient""s body. The data collected is not specifically related to a particular medical condition but, instead, provides the information necessary to derive patterns which are characteristic of healthy patients as well as those who are ill. The data collected is periodically uploaded to a database in which it is stored along with similar health histories for other patients. The monitor is preferably self-contained in a chest strap which is located on the patient""s torso, and makes use of a controller which controls sampling of the desired data and storage of the data to a local memory device pending uploading to the database. The more voluminous data collected is reduced and compressed prior to storage in the local memory device. Preferably, much of the monitor circuitry is run intermittently to conserve power. The monitor data is supplemented with subjective data (such as psychological and environmental conditions) collected from the patient using a handheld data input device which runs a program to solicit information from the patient. The subjective data collected is chronologically aligned with the monitor data in the database such that the health history of a patient includes both objective and subjective medical data.
The present invention relates generally to processors and, more specifically, to a device able to provide a doctor with general medical information and specific patient information while also allowing input of notes regarding patients in both data and audio formats.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a medical processing device that will overcome the shortcomings of prior art devices.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a medical processing device which is able to aid doctors in examining a patient.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a medical processing device which is able to display medical information to a doctor while examining a patient.
A yet further object of the present invention is to provide a medical processing device including a touch screen and a contact pen whereby the doctor is able to input data regarding a patient by contacting the touch screen with the contact pen.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a medical processing device including a recording device for recording audible notes regarding a patient.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a medical processing device having an input port for connection to a scanning device for scanning medical information, charts and x-rays into memory for viewing by a doctor.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a medical processing device able to zoom in and zoom out on an image or x-ray being displayed on the touch screen.
A yet further object of the present invention is to provide a medical processing device able to automatically clean up an image or x-ray being displayed on the touch screen.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a medical processing device able to display a prescription pad on the display screen for use by a physician in writing out a prescription using the contact pen, the prescription being able to be printed by connecting the device to a printer through the input/output port.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a medical processing device that is simple and easy to use.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a medical processing device that is economical in cost to manufacture.
Additional objects of the present invention will appear as the description proceeds.
A handheld medical processing device for providing a physician with medical information and storage for medical information. The medical processing device includes a processor and a memory unit within the device. A touch display screen is provided on a face of the device and connected to the processor. A recording device is provided for recording audio signals and a disk drive stores data input to the device on a recording medium by contacting the touch screen. The processor generates a menu of options for display on the display screen. Options for operation of the device are selectable by contacting the display screen at a display position of the desired menu option. The menu options allow the physician to input data by contacting the display screen, input audio data to be recorded by the recording device and prepare a prescription by contacting the display screen. The application software used by the processor is stored in the memory and data input on the touch screen is selectively saved in one of the memory or the recording medium. The memory also stores a database of medical information and the menu generated by the processor includes an option for accessing the database. An input/output port is also provided for connection of a peripheral device, the peripheral device is able to provide a scanned image to the processor for display, the device being able to increase and decrease the magnitude of the image.